Process of producing potassium salts.



sul lids and sulfates and they wi illhereinafter airmen.

HARRY P. ZBA'SSEETT, GATONSVIL'EE DILEYLKND, 15815131108 N! THE SPAR-CHEMICAL COMPANY, OF BALTIMORE, MlAflYLAND,AHOQBBORQIONKGF MARYLAND.

BBDGESS 'ZFIGDUCIHG BUlIAlSIUM SALTS.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may-concern: I

Ila it known that l, llA-RRYP. Bassm'r,

citizen of the United States", residing at (,atonsville, in the county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and'us'eful Improvements in-Processes of Producing, Potassium Salts, of' vhich the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to the trewtmentef insoluble potassium containing "material and particularly insolnblenmtumlli occurring silicates, such as feldspathic rock,

I have discovered that, by subjecting natnrally 0((7l1l'l'i1'lg potassmm containing silicates to the sunultaneousaction of heat and one or more sul fur containingialkitline earth metalsalts which. are intermediate between sulfide and sulfates, such for example, as

alkaline earth metal sulfites, 'thiosulfates, acid sulfites or acid thio'snlfates; I ain able t()';IBI1(lfll' the potassium content of such material soluble in water. '"Salts of this mediate decomposition "products between he so, designated.

In the practice of'my process I may su'bjcct a mixture of the ihso1u'blepotassiiim containing material and =an alkaline earth metal intermediate decomposition piodiwt of the characterreferred to, such 113s 'calcmm sullite, to a temperature of-pfietterhhW from" The insoluble petitssiurn containing material shblildpne femibly be of a degree of fineness williemthle ,it to pass through it forty or sixty mesh sieve.

If the mhterial winder treetmentccenteins 7 per cent. of"potesh figuredZes KO, and

calcium sulfite is employed-as the:mterme diatv docom msition product, I preferably mix the materials in the pmportion's of flt) parts by weight of the potassium} containing material and approxin'nttelv' 1 Weight of the calcium sultitm continued until the insoluble potassium con:

tai'ning silicate has been flilly djeeonipos'ed In ru-actic'e, I have found thttt ithis is &6

p 1: cent. he .heat is specifluatinmof Mttersiatenh Patented Fg'h 2'1, 1 917, Application filed any 15, m5. same m: 40,031.

eontain'ing 7 per cent. of potash as in the lasteexzimplel preferably mix the silicate with a milkalme'emrth metal sulfate; sul fur-1c acid, in reducing; z'rgent and water in the following approximate -pr0p0rti0ns by weight:

Insolulile silicatesflfl 10 parts. -(lnlcium-snlfate 'l-to' 2 parts. Carbon 5- parts. $ulfuric aci d 4 p irts'. W;ater 6 t *Sparts.

The mixtureiis furnaeed at temperature of from preferably 900- to 1000-F. until the insol-li'hle silicate is subs i 'ntinlliyw holly decomposed, the time of th treatment heingordinarily f om 45 :m'inutestoilihour.

in zthet rezt'tment of. a similar silicate, I mix the siliclite with z trinlkal ine earth metal sn'lfnte, sulfuric acid and iron pyrites, the materi'als beingprefiterablyibnought together in I the *fellowing -approximate proportions *by weight: g

'proeess employing qorrespendingly 'fii'flftllerqllfllltitydf sulfur in plfice io f the :tpyF itBS. V v i prefer to em pl 03* ealeium snlfn'te .ms the materielv from which to prodn-ce the i ss mavbe wilt-dined by-nsi nggother iiil lkaline I A temperature ahove1O00"F. mayebe wil weijtrfihimeliiitisillfittes.

ploycd without interfering with thereao '1111':"the x-praetices.ofv my process 1a tsulfiiric have" found their- 1 Jam :itblextoxobtni'n jsutisfaetoryxresiilts in the eiaeration of 00 35 tlon but it isllisailvamhtgeonsto permit the *a'oid siiltmll'iron' isaprodueedihud "this, tut-9n, 1

temperature of 900 F. or above, is decomposed, producing iron oxid, sulfur dioxid, and sulfur trioxid. The iron oxid by its catalytic action, transforms the sulfur. ,dioxid into sulfur trioxid and the sulfur trioxid. is absorbed in water forming sulfuric acid. In this Way the sulfuric acid employed as a reagent in the process is recovered as well as the sulfuric acid resulting from the decomposition of the calcium sulfate. It will thus be apparent that the sulfuric acid employed is usedagain and again, the amount of sulfuric acid recovered being somewhat in excess of that employed by reason of the production of sulfuric acid from the calcium sulfate used.

In my copending application Serial No.

12,932, filed March 8, 1915, for process of producing a soluble potassium compound, I have described and claimed a process wherein a mixture of insoluble potassium silicate and an acid sulfate decomposable by heat, in the presence of Water, are heated in such a mannerthat the sulfur trioxid; produced is passed back into a portion of the mixture and is absorbed in the water. In application No. 12,932, sodium acid sulfate is employed Whilein the present application I em ploy an alkaline earth metal sulfate, namely, calcium sulfate.

While I-have described in detail the preferred embodiment of my process including the preferred reagents, proportions of ingredients and details of procedure, it is to be understood that the proportions of ingredients and details of procedure may-l cwidely varied and that known chemical equivalents of the reagents may be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described my invention, T claim 1. The herein described process of producing soluble potassium salts which consists in heating to a reacting temperature an insoluble potassium containing silicate, an alkaline earth metal sulfate, a reducing agent and sulfuric acid.

2. The herein described process. of producing soluble potassium salts which consists in heating to a reacting temperature an insoluble potassium containing silicate, an alkaline earth metal sulfate, sulfuric acid, a reducing agent and Water.

3. The herein described process of producing soluble potassium salts which consists in heating to a reacting temperature an insoluble potassium containing silicate, calcium. sulfate, sulfuric acid, water, and a reducing agent.

4. The herein described process of producing soluble potassium salts which consists in heating to a. reacting ten'lperature green sa Utl marl. or similar naturally occurring insoluble potassium containing silicate, calcium sulfate, sulfuric acid, Water, and carbon in approximately the following proportions by weight: green sand marl 10 parts, calcium sulfate 1 to 2 parts, sulfuric acid at parts, water 6 to 8 parts, and carbon .5 parts.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY r. BASSETT. Witnesses:

PH. H. HOFFMAN, SAMUEL O, SornR. 

